Grocery Pick-Up: Shopping For Busy People & Introverts

Those who have hours to spend in supermarkets, poring over every label, and/or because they love browsing and seeing what’s available.

Those who dread the very thought of having to do their grocery shopping because they’re exhausted from hectic schedules/chaotic lives OR they’re introverts who positively hate the idea of “peopling” and feel drained before they even make it to the checkout.

If you fall into the latter category and/or you have a strict grocery budget, you might appreciate what I’m about to tell you. Although we do like browsing, we really don’t like crowds; further and, more importantly, we watch our overall spending very carefully because we’re in the habit of saving as much as possible.

Enter Grocery Pick-Up from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Wholesale Club. If you’re fortunate enough to have these stores next to each other, it makes shopping far less stressful and it’s as easy as sitting at your PC and clicking your way through your shopping list. I order from both stores simultaneously because we like doing our grocery shopping in one sitting and it makes comparison shopping a cinch. Sam’s often has “instant savings” on many of the things we already use ~ always great to see something on sale! Ordering online gives us more control over spending because we can keep track of our total and cut back on non-essentials or find a cheaper alternative. What I love about it is that we know exactly how much we spend before we spend it ~ no nasty surprises at the register when the clerk says, “That’ll be {the total of all your bank accounts}, please!”

Checkout is easy, too. If you have Honey*, Swagbucks*, or WikiBuy*, you can activate the cash back feature on your purchase. Further, Wal-Mart gives you $10 off your first pick-up order plus a referral code for inviting friends to try it. If a friend uses your referral code, you get $10 off your next order. If you need a referral code for $10 off your first order, click here to use mine. {Thank you!} When I’m finished shopping, I reserve a pick-up day/time, usually within the same hour for both stores, since they’re right next to each other. If you have Wal-Mart’s Grocery Pick-Up and Sam’s Wholesale Club apps installed on your smartphone, you can let them know you’re on your way for minimal waiting times or you can “check in” upon arrival, if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes. We bring our cooler for the cold items, but they don’t really keep us waiting that long, overall.

We have listed the pros and cons to, perhaps, make it easier for our readers to decide if they’d like to try these services out. It’s all subjective ~ some of our “cons” might not be that big of a deal for someone else.

PROS:

The people who bring our groceries to the car at Wal-Mart are much friendlier than those who work in the store.

Controlled spending ~ especially important if you’re on a budget

Wal-Mart gives a bag of free samples for the first Pick-Up order and occasionally thereafter. We don’t always get a goodie bag, but when we do, it has some full-sized products {we once got a full-sized bottle of Tabasco and, on a separate occasion, a full-sized bottle of probiotic gummies}.

$10.00 discount on the 1st Pick-Up order, plus a referral link for friends to use. You get a $10.00 discount for every friend who uses your code.

You don’t have to be in the store for hours! Shopping without the hassle is always a good thing.

Wal-Mart brings your groceries to your car and loads them for you. They go over your substitutions, if any, or let you know when a particular item was out of stock {in which case they give a refund}.

CONS:

Sam’s is not curbside pick-up, so you have to go into the store to get your groceries. It doesn’t take long, but it’s still not as convenient as Wal-Mart.

Both websites lack detailed product information on many items. I’ve had to rely on external websites for nutritional information and product descriptions while shopping. This may be something they’re working on as they improve their websites.

“Picky” shoppers may not like someone else choosing their groceries. However, in all the times we have used this service, we have had no complaints about product quality our groceries. We bought loose onions in our last order and Chris said they were ones he would have picked himself.

If you don’t check in ahead of time at Sam’s {via their app}, you’ll have a slightly longer wait.

Finally, if you must go into Sam’s to shop, I suggest an awesome smartphone app called Sam’s Wholesale Club “Scan & Go“. Once you install the app and log in, you can use your phone to scan the product barcodes of each item {that goes into your basket} as you shop, which places them into your virtual shopping cart and keeps a running total of the cost. When you’re done shopping, you check the amount, hit “Pay” with the credit/debit card details you enter/save in the app and you’re done. You have to show your phone at the door before you leave and check your items, but you don’t have to wait in line, unload your basket at the check-out, and reload.

If you have questions about any aspect of this post, please get in touch; I’m more than happy to answer any questions and/or elaborate further on what I’ve written. Happy Shopping!

Thank you so much for your continued visits.

Until next time…

NOTE: This is a referral link and clicking it does not cost you anything. Using these referral links benefits us both ~ signing up for these services potentially saves you money and/or earns you cash back on your purchases while giving me minimal credits. I do not include referral links to any website or services I wouldn’t personally use or endorse, nor would I direct my readers to websites or services with hidden costs.